Sunday, March 3, 2013

2013 Books #2-6

I'm making progress on my reading challenge for 2013. I'm ahead of where I need to be to reach 25 new books by the end of the year, but I know from previous years that it is good to have some wiggle room towards the end.

#2 was The Confession, by Olen Steinhauer. We borrowed this one from my mother-in-law. It took me a bit to get into the story, but once I had a nice chance to sit and read for an extended period of time, I liked it very much. I think I like his Milo Weaver series more, but this was a worthwhile read.

#3 was One Hundred Years of Solitude, by Gabriel Garcia Marquez. I loved it. This was another from my list of books that every reasonably well read adult should read. Marquez's language is beautiful. I take back my previous comments regarding books without defined plots. Good writing, beautiful language, and interesting people go a long way towards making me not miss a plot.

#4 was Young House Love, by Sherry and John Petersik. I think this would have been a really fun book in the pre-Pinterest days. It's a nice collection of fun ideas for your home, but doesn't really go into enough detail on any of them to really call them tutorials or how-tos. I also think that the 243 ideas advertised on the front of the book is stretching the truth a bit. I'd call it more like 175 ideas and some corollaries.

#5 was Before I Go to Sleep, by S.J. Watson. I read this for a book club I joined, and was not very excited about it based on the book flap description. The endorsement from Dennis Lehane intrigued me though (I refuse to read any more of his Patrick Kenzie series, but still think he is an excellent writer). I was very pleasantly surprised. I checked the book out of the library on Sunday, and had it finished by Tuesday night. It is a great thriller, and kept me eager to read the next chapter all the way through to the end.

#6 wasThe Nearest Exit, by Olen Steinhauer. This is the second book in his Milo Weaver series. I enjoyed it very much. I thought it was odd that the wife's ex-boyfriend wasn't even mentioned in this time, when he seemed to play an important role in the previous book, but that is my only quibble with the story. I've ordered the third book, and am eagerly awaiting its arrival.